put some water, maybe some red bull whatever you need to stay up with us to watch it all happen tomorrow. tomorrow is a big day. your country needs you. plan ahead. plan tonight. it's going to take a long time. we will be back at 6:00 eastern tomorrow night for election . good morning and welcome to election day 2012. the candidates have spoken. the fundraising is done and the campaign ads have run and run and run. polling stations across the country are gearing up for today's vote and those in the wake of hurricane sandy's destructive path are doing the best they can. obama versus romney, democrats versus republicans. the world is watching and now it's your decision, america. good morning everyone on this election day 2012. i'm lynn berry. this is a special edition of "first look" on msnbc.

millions of votes have already been cast and the candidates will do last minute politicking early today. in ohio 1.8 million absentee ballots have already been cast. that's up from 2008. in florida, nearly 4.5 million people have already voted early or by absentee coming very close to the number from last time. president obama voted early this year. he'll do swing state interviews and then will play his traditional election day basketball game while awaiting the returns from chicago. mr. romney has added to last-minute campaign stops in ohio and pennsylvania after he votes in massachusetts. running mate paul ryan will vote in wisconsin before joining romney in boston and vice president joe biden will vote in delaware before joining the president in ohio.

we have details on the candidates' final frantic day of campaigning. tracy i poe tracie potts is wit look at the cincinnati enquirer with the faceoff picture in the headline. it's all up to us. ohio at the center of the political universe. while this state may in fact be important, it wasn't the first to vote. for the first time ever and with its lowest turnout in almost 50 years, a tie this morning in tiny dixville notch. they cast five votes for barack obama, five for governor romney. a few hours south in manchester, the governor ends his campaign. these last months of our campaign have seen the gathering of strength of a real movement across this country. it's evident in the size of these crowds like this tonight. my goodness.

[ applause ] and i understand that there are a few thousand people outdoors who couldn't get in, too. >> after voting near boston this morning, the governor hits the road again, thanking campaign workers in pennsylvania and ohio, two key states he hopes to win. president obama wakes up this morning back home in chicago. he plans to continue an election day tradition. a game of basketball before watching results tonight. last night, his final campaign rally ever in iowa where he first won four years ago. >> as long as there's a child anywhere in des moines, anywhere in iowa, anywhere in in country languishing in poverty, barred from opportunity, our work isn't done. our fight for change goes on. >> the president promised a better tomorrow if elected. that tomorrow may or may not

begin today. the polls here in ohio open in 2.5 hours, but guess what? almost a third of the state 1.6 million people have already voted. >> tracie potts there for us in cincinnati. let's turn to nbc's mike taibbi in colorado where polls are showing the candidates in a dead heat. here's how important both sides think that colorado and its nine electoral could be. counting the running mates, the romney and obama teams have made 42 separate visits to the state. the polls call it virtually deadlocked. the latest wall street journal poll calling it 48-48. good news for republicans, early voting huge in colorado 1.7 million votes already cast, more self-identified republicans have gone to the polls than democrats. on the obama side of the ledger, one strategist said they're meeting or exceeding all goals especially among hispanics. what both sides agree on, if there's no projected winning by

the counting starts, this state could be key. >> be sure to stay with msnbc for the best election coverage all day long. an extended morning joe and the best political coverage anywhere. nbc meteorologist bill karins is in democracy plaza. quite the view there with the election day forecast. good morning, bill. >> good morning, lynn. i'm at the 50 yard line of the football game. feels like a sporting event tonight. that is that excitement to it. this is the place to be later tonight. our coverage here on nbc news and msnbc, right through the news. who knows when the race will be called. the number 270 as 270 electoral votes whoever gets there first will be the next president of the united states. it's going to be a close call by everything that chuck todd keeps telling me. as far as the election day forecast and often the weather can affect the turnout. i tell you what, we're looking okay, especially in the swing states. we have rain in areas of atlanta, through south carolina, some of the rain trying to push

into florida. that i-4 corridor very important for the voting from the tampa through orlando. if you do get rain, it will be early this morning and later this afternoon, this evening. you should be just fine. the other wet spot, we have a little bit of wintry weather. the swing states through wisconsin, we should see a little bit of light snow in the upper peninsula today, north of duluth heading to the upper peninsula of michigan. light rain from minneapolis, rochester, lacrosse, madison. nothing that will cause anyone too many issues getting to the polls. your election day forecast and forecast for tomorrow looks like this. today, the rain is down in the southeast. the nor'easter, good news overnight. it looks like the storm will be further off the coast as the nor'easter does push off the coast, it will still have the cold air wrapping around it. i'm still concerned for areas hit by sandy to get strong wind and now it looks like a wintry mix maybe changing over to all snow. the snow could be the issue and if the snow is heavy enough, we may see additional power outages, not widespread, just a

few. not a lot of coastal damage. lynn, election day forecast really no issues for people going to the polls. the nor'easter forecast has improved. i know a lot of us in new york city could see our first snowflakes of the year. >> good news there. bill, thanks so much. in addition to the white house, we're going to look at some of the hotly contested senate races across the countriment let's go back there. a beautiful sight. it's nbc's democracy plaza at the heart of rockefeller center. check us out at nbc news.com/democracy plaza. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. ♪

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at an obama campaign event last night in columbus, ohio. speaking of the boss in home state of new jersey, officials are making sure that voters can cast their ballots despite the devastation from hurricane sandy. voters whose polling places were flooded were busy filling out forms yesterday to cast provisional ballots. in florida and other key battleground states, there are reports of robo calls incorrectly telling voters they can cast ballots over the telephone. during halftime of monday night football, espn's chris berman interviewed both president obama and governor romney. he asked mr. obama what he's learned about himself and then ask mitt romney what he asked about himself and then to mr. obama, he likened politics to o sports. let's begin with mr. romney. >> this campaign process goes on a couple of years, lots of flights, lots of trips and what i found that surprised me is the more events i did, the more energy i seemed to get. >> in sports, it's about winning

championships. interesting, in politics, it's not winning elections. it's making sure that you're delivering for the folks who sent you. >> later the president predicted a super bowl win for his chicago bears and governor romney jokingly took credit for two new england patriots super bowl victories. little bit of fun there too. countries around the world pay more attention to the american presidential election than you might think. nbc's michelle kosinski is live in london for morton that. good morning. >> the u.s. election is a top story today outside the u.s. with coverage all over television, newspapers and websites. extremely thorough and extensive. in fact, virtually every foreign news organization has on its website a prom gent section devoted to the u.s. election. that's tough for americans to imagine that we would pay that much attention to another country's political contest. the times here in london tells

us that their u.s. election section is now their most clicked outside of their home page and views of it have gone up about 500% since august. how much does this matter? yesterday, across europe markets declined amid the uncertainty over how the u.s. election would turn out. part of the reason for all this attention is that so many people in so many countries are looking for a catalyst for change in their own nations through what happens in the u.s. tonight around the world there will be live watch parties. looking at coverage that stations are carrying live from the u.s. and that will happen in the middle of the night here. lynn? >> michelle kosinski in london for us. thanks so much. of course the presidency isn't the only thing at stake. kelly o'donnell looks at close senate races happening around the country. >> the power struggle for control of the u.s. senate runs right through massachusetts where democrats see a big chance to gain ground with harvard

professor and consumer advocate elizabeth warren. >> what i see is lots of enthusiasm, lots of momentum. mostly it's people coming up to me shall grabbing my arm and saying, girl, you got to wen this. >> up against senator scott brown who won ted kennedy's seat who years ago. the rare republican who stresses his cooperation with president obama who is expected to easily carry massachusetts. >> i was just named the least partisan senator. i take great pride in that. working with others trying to get things done. >> voters are deciding 33 senate races and for much of the year, republicans believe they had a good shot at picking up the three or four seats needed to take over the majority. controversy slowed their momentum. republicans had banked on wins in missouri and indiana. until gop candidates todd akin and richard mourdock made -- >> the two races, the republicans have done it to

themselves is. those two races might be enough to cost the republicans control of the senate. >> in connecticut, republicans had hoped former world wrestling entertainment ceo linda mcmahon could pull off an upset spending part of her own fortune. polls show her behind. >> former gop governor tommy thompson is locked in a nailbiter with texas a&m ee baldwin who could become the first openly guy senator. >> your voices will be heard. >> when the votes are counted, analysts predict the new senate could be even more narrowly divided than it is now. kelly o'donnell, nbc news, cleveland. >> last night on "hardball," president obama's campaign manager told chris matthews the stakes in the election are high for women. >> we need women to come out and vote. they support the president by double digits, we we need them to come out to the polls and vote tomorrow. in the usa today poll, in a lot of the state polling, he leads women by double digits. but now is the time when it

matters to demonstrate support, when you come out to the polls. for those what are early voting, broad coalition of people, young people, women, african-americans, latinos, they're all coming out to cast a vote early for this president. >> rachel maddow, chris matthews and the rest of the lineup will have the special election coverage starting tonight at 6:00 p.m. eastern. chris christie, barack obama, that relationship has grown even stronger. we'll have details next. plus, the cast of jersey shore is putting their stamp on hurricane sandy. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. well, if it isn't mr. margin. mr. margin? don't be modest, bob. you found a better way to pack a bowling ball. that was ups. and who called ups? you did, bob. i just asked a question. it takes a long time to pack a bowling ball. the last guy pitched more ball packers. but you... you consulted ups. you found a better way. that's logistics. that's margin. find out what else ups knows. i'll do that. you're on a roll.

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more than a week after sandy's historic assault on the northeast, many residents of the new jersey shore are still starting to get their first up close look at the destruction to their homes and businesses. at one low-income housing project in brooklyn, new york, many still don't even have power or heat as they have to cope with all this bitter cold. the unusual alliance formed between new jersey's republican governor chris christie and president obama took on yet another dimension monday. during a call from aboard air force one, the president handed the phone over to chrissie's fellow new jerseyan, bruce springsteen. >> bruce is flying around with the president on his last day of his campaign. bruce said to me how proud he was of his state.

how tough they are and the people of this state. he'll be back to the jersey shore soon. we had a good conversation today. it was great to talk to the president and even better to talk to bruce. >> the cast of mtv's jersey shore is planning to help rebuild its namesake. stars of the mtv reality show will be part of a fundraising special on mtv next week. in other news, a near fatal collision at a small texas airport was all caught on tape. it's amazing. watch this. a student pilot on his first solo flight was moments away from a smooth landing when the landing gear clips the passing suv. the video was capped captured by the pilot's wife as -- the teu dent is four weeks away from receiving his license but has decided to quit flying. you can imagine why. seven people came close to drowning after heavy surf caused their boat to capsize.

four adults and three children were stranded in the bay without any life jackets. they clung on to the boat until air and marine units arrived. they had to tow the boat to shore because there were two small children stuck in the cabin underwater. they to cut through the hull to free the children. lucky kids there. >> even wildlife have set backs when it keeping waterways confined. a washington community was flooded after a beaver dam gave way. a deluge of water caused road closures and damage to at least one home. the homeowner had complained about the dam to county officials before it ruptured. and was told the army corps of engineers had been notified. now let's get to your money. stocks edged higher monday. looking back the dow gained 3.3% on election day 2008. another note, historically the dow and the s&p have both

performed about 30% better under democratic ppts than republicans. a federal judge threw out a patent suit hours before trial. tesla jumped 9% as it ramps you have production of the sedans. american suzuki filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. nike is reportedly in final talks to sell its shoe brand to a private equity firm for $500 million. phillips 66 has a major gas refinery will remain idle for two to three weeks for sandy-related repairs. good news. whole frozen turkeys cost only about five cents more than two years ago. anheuser-busch is asking paramount to remove the bud logo of the movie "flight." washington plays a highly functioning alcoholic pilot had

in one scene he's drinking a bud behind the wheel of a car. they don't like that. just ahead, bill karins will have the weather and stephen colbert on the ultimate voter. please be sure to share the photos you've taken of election day experience. you can use #2012. might show them on air or online. [ male announcer ] the way it moves. the way it cleans. everything about the oral-b power brush is simply revolutionary. oral-b power brushes oscillate, rotate and even pulsate to gently loosen and break up that sticky plaque with more brush movements than manual brushes and even up to 50% more than leading sonic technology brushes for a superior clean. oral-b power brushes. go to oralb.com for the latest offers.

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welcome back to first look. meteorologist bill karins on the ice at 30 rock and democracy plaza. this is the place to be today. what a night it will be on msnbc. we'll talk about the forecast. we have this nor'easter, people are concerned about people

recovering from sandy. we're watching that, rain today for election day in the southeast. that's the storm we're going to watch heading up the coast. what has happened overnight is a lot of the weather computers shifted to the east. only by about 50 miles. that is enough to lower the impacts at the coastal areas, especially the winds. let me show you what we'll deal with. first things first, the cold air is in place. one of the coldest mornings yet of this fall season. look at the temperatures in connecticut and in the jersey shore. that's not factoring in the windchill in the teens and 20s. the cold air is in place, then the nor'easter heads off the coast. the cold air stays in place. so a lot of areas that got hit by sandy could see wet snow. i don't expect big accumulations, only a couple slushy inches. that's enough for minor issues, lynn. the big story is the nor'easter, further off the coast. very good. >> that's the important part. bill, thanks so much. on election day eve, stephen colbert looked at the

presidential candidates last minute frenzy of campaigning. >> mason, it is election eve. just hours left in the 2012 campaign. both candidates are pulling out all the stops. >> here's the president's final two days. he'll beat florida, new hampshire, colorado, ohio, wisconsin and iowa. let me show you the mitt romney schedule. he's trying to go into pennsylvania. it's florida, it's virginia. it's new hampshire. >> so if you live in one of these states, the colbert report is now issuing a severe candidate warning. be prepared with freshwater and flashlights and please, if you have a single working class female suburban undecided voter in your home, cover her with plywood. or she could just get sucked up into a vortex of pandering. >> was colbert stealing your thunder. you included that in your election day -- >> i'm sad, though. realizing, we're going to lose

all the clips after the campaigns are over. >> they'll still deliver, bill. don't you worry. >> lynn, one thing for the historical record. the race is too close to call still. just got that information in. >> just in case you're wondering. >> i'm lynn berry, this is "first look" on msnbc. to all of you who have lived and breathed the hard work of change, i want to thank you. you took this campaign and you made it your own and you organized yourself block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood, county by county. starting a movement that spread across